Method and apparatus for producing sectional boiler headers



Dec. '8,- 1925- I v A. COTTCN METHOD AND Armm rus FOR PRomicINeszcTmNAL BOILER HEADERS .Fne Aug. 4, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORN EY Dec. 8, 1925- A. COTTON METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SECTIdNAL BOILER HEADERS Filed Aug. 4, 1923 hefls-Shaet rllllfllllllflifllvll f.

INVIENTORI ALI-REE? COTTON ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 8, 1 925.

ALFRED COTTON, .0]? ST. LOUIS,

MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO HEINE BOILER COMPANY,

OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF- MISSOURI.

w mn'rnon Ann APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SECTIONAL 1301mm HEADERS.

Application filed August 4, 1923. Serial No. 655,670.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED, Co'r'roN, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain 5 new and useful Improvement in Methods and Apparatus for Producing Sectional Boiler Headers, of which the following is a. full, clear, and "exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to. which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to methods and apparatus usedv in the manufacture of sectional boiler headers of the kind that are produced by deforming'a wrought iron or drawn steel tube in such a way as to convert it into a hollow member, capable of use as a header for a vertical row of boiler tubes, and of such form that a. plurality of such members can be arranged side by'side, in nested relation.

One object of my resent invention is to' provide a novel met od for producing a hollow member of substantially rectangular cross section from around or oval tube.

Another object is to provide a novel ap paratus for carrying'out said method.

' I have herein illustrated my method'and apparatus as being used to produce a sec-' tional boiler header, but I wish it to .be

understood that the method and apparatus" can be used in the manufacture of various I other hollow members.

I Briefly, described, my method consists in Jarranging a heated metal tube in a die whose cavity is of the same shape or a 7 proximately the same .shape of the memher or article which it is desired to produce, and thereafter expanding said tube into engagement with the die by internal pressure thatis exerted outwardly on ortions of the tube progressively, 1n sue a way'that the tube will be changed gradually from its original cross section into a hollow member whose exterior conforms to the shape of the die. be used for expanding the tube into engagement Withthe die, but I prefer to gradu ally fill the tube with a non-compressible substance orv medium which is of such anature or character'that it can be easil discharged from the tube at the completion of the deforming operation, and subjecting said substance or medium to such action as H to cause it to exert outward pressure on the- Various means may.-

tube' and force the tube outwardly into engagement with the die. .One medium that is well adapted for this purpose is "sand,

or a similar granular material, but it isobvious that various other substances or mediums could be. used without departing from the splrit of my invention. Owing to the fact that the tube is deformed progressively by expanding one portion of the tube,

then an adjacent portion and so on throughout the length of the tube, less power is requ red to deform the tube than if all portions of the tube were deformed at the same time. It is immaterial what type or kind of means is, used for exerting pressure on the medium that forces the tube outwardly into engagement with the die, but one means that is highly satisfactory consists of a plunger arranged to move longitudinally of the tube and act on said medium, said plunger being operated in such a way that it will cause said medium to be subjected to sharp, sudden blows in rapid succession, or" operated in such a way that it will exert graduall increasing pressure on said medium each time a forward strokeis imparted to said plunger.

Various forms of apparatus can be used for practicing my method. The apparatus herein illustrated consists: of a die in which a heated tube isadapted to be arranged,

means for introducing a granular substance into said tube so as to gradually ifill' 'tl1 same, and means for exerting pressure on said substance in such a way as to cause the tube to be expanded progressively into engagement with the die by the outward force or pressure said substance exerts on the tube. The means that exerts .pressure on the granular substance in the tube consists of a pulsating plunger thatmoves longitudlnally of the die in which the tube is arranged, and means is provided whereby at the beginning of the deforming operation said plunger willjbe arranged at one end of the die, and as the deforming operation proceeds, one of said elements, either the plunger or the die, will travel long tudinally relatively to the other element, so as.

to bring difi'er'entzones of the die into operati've" relationship with the plunger. 'In the -machine herein illustrated the. pulsating plunger is carried. by a'stationary part of J the apparatus and-thedie-is carried by a movable part of the apparatus arranged so as to cause the closed end of the die to travel away from the operating end of the plunger as the tube in the die isgradually filling up with the granular substance, but it is, of course, obvious that the same effect could be obtained by mounting the die on a stationary part of the apparatus and moving the plunger bodily relatively to the die, so as to bring the plunger into operative relationship with different zones of thedie.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a vertical sectional view of an apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention, for practicin my improved process.

%igure 2 is a side elevational view of the die and the platform on which it is mounted. Figure 3 is a top plan view of the die; and

Figure 4 is a vertical longitudinal section of a'portion of the die, illustrating how adjacent portions of the tube are expanded progressively into engagement with the die.

I have herein illustrated my method and apparatus used to produce a sectional boiler header of approximately oblong shape'ln horizontal cross section, as indicated by the reference character as in Figure 3, and pro vided with at least two opposed sides that are corrugated or of sinuous form in general outline, as shown in Figures 1 and 4. The tube from which the header is constructed will usually consist of a wrought iron or drawn steel tube that is of circular shape or val. sha broken lines. in Figure 3. as my invention overcomes the necessity of partially deforming a round tube in one machine and then placing the tubein another machine in Y which the final shape or form is imparted to the tube.

Referring to the drawings, the reference character A in Figure 1 designates as an entirety a die whose cavity corresponds to the external shape of the header to be produced in the apparatus. Said die is arranged in an uprightposition' on a vertically-movable platform B with the upper end" of said die open, so that a tube 3 can be arranged in the die and sand or' some other suitable substance z thereafter fed into the tube, so as to gradually fill the same. After the tube has been partly filled with the substance 2 said substance is" subjected to pressure by means of a reciprocating plun er 0 that extends downwardly into the tu so as to cause the substance .2 to exert outwardpressure 'onthe tube and cause a portion of the tube to be forced outwardly "into engagement with the zone of the die in proximltyto the .pprtion of the tube filled by the substances.

ore of the substance 2 is then introduced into the tube and the platform B is moved simultaneously in a direction to bring-the plunger 0 into operative relationship with in cross section, as shown in a different zone of the die, the pressure which said plunger exerts on the substance 2 in this new position of the plunger anddie causing another portion of the tube to be forced outwardly into engagement with the die. The above described operations are continued, namely, sand or the like is fed relatively to the plunger, thereby causing the tube to be deformed progressively and in such a way that by the-time the platform B has reached its limit of travel in one .direction all portions of the tube will have been been expanded into the die, said die being of such construction that one or more parts of same can be moved or detached at the completion of the deforming operation, so as to permit the header to be removed from the (lie.

In the machine herein shown the plunger C is carried by a stationary part of the apparatus and is arranged above the die A in longitudinal alignment with the cavity of the (lie, the platform B being provided with range the zone at the lower end of the die A.

in operative relationship with the plunger at the beginning of the deforming operation,

' gradually into the tube and the die is moved and use gravity to move said platform downwardly, so as to bring the successive zones of the die into operative relationship with the plunger, the downward movement of the platform Bbeing governed by the escape of sand 3 from a chamber or cylinder 4 into which the depending guide 1 on the platform B projects. As shown in Figure 1, a

plurality of hydraulic cylinders 5 are arranged under the platform B parallel to the sand chamber 4, and the pistons 5" of said --hydraulic cylinders are disposed vertically and connected at their upper ends to said platform, the operating medium that is suplied to and exhausted from the 'cylinders'5 .eing controlled by a three-way value 6. Sand or the like is introduced into the up r end of the sand chamber or cylinder 4 y.

a feed pipe 7 that leads from a supply hop-- r 8,v and said sand chamber is provided at its lower end with a discharge outlet 9 through which the sand escapes from saidv chamber gradually during the deforming operation, therebypermitting the platform B to descend gradually and move the die A downwardly from its starting position or extreme elevated position indicated by dotted lines in Figure 1 when sand is being fed into the upper end of. the tube, it being un-- derstood that when the valve 10 that com the admission of the sand to the tube andcut ofi the flow of sand through said feed 1. ipe. The feed pipe 7 through which sand is admitted to the sand chamber or cylinder 4 is also equipped with a regulating valve,

designated by the reference character 13 in Figure 1, and a means such as an elevator 14 is used for conveying the sand that escapes from the sand chamber 4 upwardly into the supply hopper 8.

I have herein illustrated the plunger C as being moved downwardly by the piston of asteam cylinder 15 and moved upwardly by a spring 16 arranged between a head piece 17 on said plunger and a stationary guide 18 in which the plunger reciprocates, but I wish it to be understood that it is immaterial what type or kind of means is used for operating said plunger, and it is also immaterial whether said plunger is pulsated or operated at a high speed, or operated in such a way that it exerts gradually increasing pressure on the substance 2 in the tube during its downward or forward stroke. a

The die A is preferably provided with rollers 19, as shown in Figure 2, so as to facilitate the movement-of same onto and oil of the platform B, and in order that said die will have a square, even bearing on the platform during the operation of deforming the tube, the spindles or axles of the rollers 19 are carried by eccentrics 20 mounted in lugs-on the die A in such a way that when handles 21 that are combined with said eccentrics are moved in one direction, the die will be moved upwardly off of the platform B and supported by the rollers 19, and when said handles are moved back to normal posi tion, the die will be lowered onto the plat-- form. In Figure 3 of the drawings I have illustrated one form of die that is particularly adapted for use'in the manufacture of a boiler' header produced by deforming a tube, on account of its great strength and rigidity and the ease with which it can be assembled and disassembled. As shown in said figure, the die is composed of two members 23 arranged in opposed relation and provided on their inner sides with inwardlyprojecting portions 23 that form two of the sides of the die, two opposed members 24 arranged in opposed relation at right angles to the members 23, bolts 25 that pass" transversely through the members 24 and through the inwardly-projectingportions 23 of the after moved upwardly by manipulating the i valve 6 of the hydraulic raising mechanism for the platform, thus causing the plunger C- to be brought into operative relationship with the zone at the lower end of the die. The valve in the sand supply pipe 11 is then opened so as to cause sand to be fed into the tube in the die, the plunger C is set in operation, the valve 6 is posit.oned so as to permit the hydraulic medium to escape from the clyinders 5 and the discharge valve 10 of the sand cylinder 4 is opened so as to permit the sand in the cylinder 4 to escape therefrom. The pressure which the plunger C exerts on the sand that fillsthe lower end portion of the tube causes this portion of the tube to be expanded or forced outwardly into engagement with the die, and as the platform B moves downwardly, due to gravity and to the gradual escape of sand from the sand cylinder 4, diflere'nt zones of the die will be brought into operative relationship with the plunger, thus causiiig. other portions of the tube to be expanded progressively into engagement with the die.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as newvand desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A method of making a hollow member, characterized by arranging a heated tube in a die, expanding-the portion adjacent one end of the tube into engagement with the die, and thereafter expanding other portions of the tube into engagement with the die in regular progression from one end of the tube to the other. 7 i

2. A method of making a hollow member, characterized by arranging a heated tube in a die, introducing a. non-compressible medium into a portion of the tube, subjecting said medium to such action as to cause that portion of the tube to be expanded into engagement with the die, and repeating the above operations on other portions of the tube so as to progressively deform the tube.

3. A method of making a hollow member, characterized by arranging a heated tube in a die, feeding sand or the like into the tube,

and exerting pressure on said sand in a (ll? rection lengthwise of the tube 'as the sand fills up the tube, so as to cause the sand to force different portions of the tube into-en-- gagement with the die progressively.

4. A method of making a hollow member,

characterized by arranging a heated tube in' a die, filling one end portion of the tube with a non-compressible medium, subjecting) said medium to pressure by a reciprocating plunger arran ed inside of the tube so as to expand the fi ed portion of the tube mto engagement with the die, and continu ng the supp y of the non-compresslble medium to the tube and simultaneously changing the relative position of the plunger and tube by moving one of said elements lon itudinally with relation to the other, where y the tube will be deformed progressively.

5. A method of making a 11 low member, characterized by arranging a heated tube in a die, positioning a plunger inside of said tube adjacent the closed end of the die, feeding sand or the like into the tube so as to gradually fill the same, reciprocating said plunger so as to cause it to exert pressure on the sand in a direction to expand the tube, and changing the relative position of mg sand or the like into the tube so as tothe plunger and die so as to bring the plunger into operative relationship with different zones of the die andthus cause the tube to be deformed progressively.

6. A method of making a hollow member,

characterized by arranging a heated tube in a die, positioning a plunger inside of said tube adjacent the closed end of the die, feeding sand or the like into the tube '50 as to gradually fill the same, reciprocating said plunger so as to cause it,to exert pressure on the sand in a direction to expand the tube, and moving the die in a direction longitudinally of the plunger so as to cause the tube to be forced outwardly progressively into engage ment with the die as the tube becomes filled with said sand.

a platform, positioning a plunger inside ofsaid tube ad acent the lower end of the die, moving-the platform downwardly gradually and simultaneously feeding sand or the like into the tube, and reciprocating the plunger so as to cause it to exert pressure on the sand in a direction to progressively expand the tube into engagement with the die.

8. An apparatus for producing a hollow member from a tube, comprising a die in which a tube is" adapted to be arranged, a reciprocating plunger arranged to move longitudinally of said tube, means for feedcause the plunger to exert pressure on said sand in a direction to expand the tube into engagement with the die, and means for changing the relative position of the plunger and tube while the sand is being fed into the tube so as to bring the plunger into'operati've relationship with different zones of the die and thus cause the tube to be deformed progressively.

9. An apparatus for'producing a hollow member from a tube, comprising a die in which a tube is adapted to be arranged, a reciprocating plunger carried by a station-' ary portion of the a paratus and arranged to move longitudinal y inside of the tube in saiddie, means for feedin sand or the like into said tube into a position to be acted upon. by said plunger, so as to expand the tube, and means for moving the die longitudinall' relatively to the plunger as the tube is lling up with sand so as to cause the tube to be deformed progressively.

10. An apparatus for producing a hollow member from a tube, comprising a platform, a die arranged in an upright position on said platform and adapted to have a tube positioned inside of same, a reciprocating plunger arranged to move longitudinally inside of said tube, means for raising and lowering said platform for the purpose (lo-- scribed, and means for gradually filling the tube with a non-compressible medium when the platform is moving downwardly away from the plunger.

causing the platform to'move downwardly at such a speed when sand is being supplied to said tube that the tube will be deformed progressive] by the joint operation of said plunger an sand..

12. An apparatus for producing a hollow member from a tube, comprising a platform, a die arranged in an upright position on said platform and adapted to have a tube positioned inside'of same. a reciprocating plunger arranged to move longitudinally inside of said tube, means 'for raising said platform to locate the plunger in proximity to the zone at the lower end of the die, means for feeding sand or the like into the upper end of the tube in the die, a depending guide on said platform that projects mto a sand cylinder, and means for permittin the sand to escape from said sand cylin er gradually .when sand is being fed into the upper end of thetube so as to permit the platform to move downwardly and thus cause the tube to be deformed progressively.

13. An apparatus for producing a hollow of the tube in the die, a depending guide on said platform that projects into a sand cylinder, means for permittlng the sand to escape from said sand cylinder gradually when sand is being fed into the upper end of the tube so as to permit the platform to move-downwardly and this cause the tube to be deformed progressively, an elevated sand supply hopper from which sand is taken to fill the tube and to till the sand cylinder, and 1 means for conveying the sand that escapes from the sand cylinder upwardly to said supply hopper.

ALFRED COTTON. 

